Derek Hoffend – Eastworks

Sonotron

A sound-sculpture and light installation based on audio immersion, sacred geometry, and therapeutics, wherein viewers can enter the piece and be bathed in frequencies.

The physical form is a merged icosahedron and dodecahedron frame, and 10 speakers are positioned inside this structure, creating a unique surround-sound environment. Sine-wave frequencies based on harmonic relationships are rotated from speaker to speaker in real-time with randomized motion and velocity, creating a cumulative plateau of drones that is constantly evolving and modulating while maintaining a consistent harmonic structure. Two low-frequency vibrational transducers are positioned underneath a platform bed that is inside the larger geometric form, where viewers can lay down in repose, allowing deeper frequencies to be felt directly in the body. This tactile experience of sound in the body as well at the ears helps unite the viewer with the frequencies and the overall form of the structure.

Therapeutically, the sounds are designed to have positive effects on the viewer with various frequencies being associated with achieving clarity, awareness, balance, and a sense of wellbeing, as well as relaxation and the relief of anxiety and pain. The geometric form itself is based on the study, practice, and application of sacred-geometry energetic principles, anchoring unique and powerful vibrational energies that have restorative, rejuvenating, and cleansing properties and also assist in higher states of consciousness and physical-plane manifestation of intentions. In regard to these elements, it is the artist’s intention that this work functions as a bridge between physical and spiritual phenomena, as well as to encourage a form of interaction that is rooted in active receiving and absorption.

Incubator

is a sound-sculpture in the form of a 4’x4’x7’ cubic, open-ended wood box that resonates with sound.

Each of the four sides contains low-frequency audio transducers that play back pairs of beat-patterning sine-wave frequencies, creating sounds that move in slow wave-like pulsations through the structure. Viewers can sit or lie down inside the box, and experience the feeling of the low-frequency sound waves pulsing through their body. Participants become part of an immersive, physical sound experience that is felt as well as heard, in what has often been described by viewers as a sort of sound-massage.

This works employs theories of vibro-acoustic therapy and sympathetic resonance to impart specific frequencies directly into the body of the participant. The frequencies used in the piece have been associated with calming and entraining brain-wave states, opening and tuning of chakras and the subtle-energy system of the body, promotion of relaxation, mood elevation, anxiolytic effects (anxiety reduction), and pain relief.

In a similar manner to Sonotron, it is the artist’s intention to manifest a physical perception of sound that expands beyond the aural, with a methodology centered on therapeutic potentials within the physical body and nervous system, as well as within subtle-body layers of the human energy field.

Derek Hoffend’s sound-sculptural installations explore sound as a medium intersecting with physical forms, structures, bodies, and spaces to create immersive or participatory experiences for viewers. Fusing elements of sonic, electronic, and physical media, his work conflates vibrational energetic processes with material form, and emphasizes relationships between sensory phenomena and perception. Recent work adds a therapeutic focus as informed by studies in sound-healing, vibro-acoustics, sacred geometry, and energy-work.

Hoffend also maintains an active music practice, recording and performing electronic music under the moniker Aether Chroma as well as his own name, and electro-acoustic improvisation with the Mobius Quartet.

Hoffend holds a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Art and Technology, a MA from New York University in Studio Art, and a BFA from the State University of New York at Fredonia in Sculpture and Photography. He is currently an Associate Professor in Interactive Media at Becker College in Worcester, MA, and lives in Boston, MA.